Sepp Blatter to Resign as FIFA President + FIFA Officials Indicted on Corruption Charges

Sepp Blatter said Tuesday that he would resign from the presidency of FIFA in the wake of a corruption inquiry.

He said he would ask FIFA to schedule a new election for his replacement as soon as possible. The next FIFA congress is May 2016, but Mr. Blatter acknowledged that FIFA could not wait very long for new leadership given the current situation.

At a brief, hastily called news conference in Zurich, Blatter said that “FIFA needs a profound restructuring.”

“I appreciate and love FIFA more than anything else,” he said. “And I only want to do the best for FIFA.” Mr. Blatter declined to take questions after his remarks.

Blatter, 79, has worked for FIFA since 1975. He has been president since 1998.

The Italian Domenico Scala, who leads the FIFA audit and compliance committee, will take the lead in managing this handover. He said reforms would include “fundamental changes” to the way FIFA is structured.

Mr. Blatter was re-elected to his post just Friday, 133-73, and said he would serve until a new election.He has been praised for extending soccer’s reach to less developed nations and raising the profile of the women’s game. But he has been dodging scandals almost from the moment he was elected.

Earlier Tuesday, FIFA responded to an article by The New York Times linking Jérôme Valcke, FIFA’s secretary general, to payments made in 2008 that investigators believe amounted to $10 million in bribes. FIFAsaid in a statement that the payments, which are at the center of aUnited States Department of Justice investigation that led to a 47-count indictment against soccer officials and sports marketing executives, were approved in 2007 by Julio Grondona. Mr. Grondona, who was the chairman of FIFA’s finance committee at the time, died last year.

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Here Are the FIFA Officials Indicted on Corruption Charges

1. 

    

   PRESIDENT OF CONCACAF, V.P. OF FIFA
   Jeffrey Webb

   Webb, 50, has been president of Concacaf, the regional confederation representing North and Central America and the Caribbean, since 2012. That post also makes him a vice president of FIFA. His arrest might be the biggest surprise: Webb is widely hailed as a voice for change in world soccer, and he has pressed FIFA to be more proactive in fighting corruption and mismanagement. He was among the few voices who pressed FIFA to release the entire report into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Webb has also taken the lead in fighting racism in the game; he currently leads FIFA’s anti-discrimination task force.

2. 

    

   FORMER PRESIDENT OF CONCACAF AND V.P. OF FIFA
   Jack Warner

   Warner, 72, was a dominant force in Concacaf and FIFA politics for nearly 30 years until he resigned all of his positions in the wake of numerous charges of corruption and bribery against him. Because of FIFA rules at the time he retired in 2011, Warner’s resignation brought to an end all ethics proceedings against him. That prevented a public airing of the charges – “the presumption of innocence is maintained,” FIFA said in announcing his departure – including allegations that he had benefited from reselling World Cup tickets and television rights and that he had used FIFA funds to build a $26 million training center on property that he owned, making him its de facto owner. Warner dismissed a report detailing his financial mismanagement of Concacaf as “baseless and malicious” when it was released in 2013. “I left Concacaf and turned my back on football two years ago,” he said. “Since then, I have had no interest in any football-related matter.”

3. 

    

   OUTGOING V.P. OF FIFA
   Eugenio Figueredo

   Figueredo, 83, was the president of Uruguay’s soccer federation from 1997 to 2006, and served as the vice president of Conmebol, the governing body for soccer in South America, from 1993 to 2013. He ascended to the presidency of the federation when Nicolás Leoz of Paraguay resigned from FIFA; Leoz cited “health and personal” reasons for his resignation, but he had been accused of soliciting bribes for his vote in the competition for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Figueredo’s time on the Executive Committee was short, however; he recently lost his seat to another Paraguayan, Juan Ángel Napout.

4. 

    

   MEMBER-ELECT, FIFA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
   Eduardo Li

   A businessman with Chinese roots, Li is the president of Costa Rica’s soccer federation and is to join FIFA’s executive committee this week. Last year, he oversaw Costa Rica’s hosting of the Under-17 Women’s World Cup. He is also a member of the executive committee of Concacaf and of the panel that oversees its regional championship tournament, the Gold Cup.

5. 

    

   FORMER MEMBER OF FIFA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
   Nicolás Leoz

   Leoz, 86, served as president of Conmebol, the South American soccer association, from 1986 to 2013 and was a longtime member of FIFA’s executive committee, but he resigned both positions two years ago, citing health and personal issues. His resignation came after he was accused of taking kickbacks from a former FIFA marketing partner during the 1990s, and after an official for England’s 2018 World Cup bid said Leoz had demanded a knighthood in exchange for his vote.

6. 

    

   FORMER PRESIDENT OF BRAZILIAN SOCCER FEDERATION
   José Maria Marin

   Marin, 83, was president of the Brazilian soccer federation from 2012 until April of this year, and as a result was the head of Brazilian soccer when it hosted the 2014 World Cup. He is also a member of the organizing committee for next year’s Olympic soccer tournament in Rio. Of Brazil’s humiliating 7-1 defeat to Germany in the semifinal, which shattered the country’s fans and prevented the team from lifting the Cup at home, Marin said this year: “We don’t want to blame Brazil’s lack of success in the World Cup on anyone in particular; I believe we are all to blame.”

7. 

    

   FIFA DEVELOPMENT OFFICER
   Julio Rocha

   Rocha is the former president of the Nicaraguan soccer federation and also serves as a FIFA development officer. Formerly the president of the Central American Football Union.

8. 

    

   PRESIDENT OF VENEZUELA SOCCER FEDERATION
   Rafael Esquivel

   Esquivel, 68, has been the president of Venezuela’s soccer federation since 1988, making him the longest-serving national federation president in South America.

9. FORMER CAYMAN ISLANDS SOCCER OFFICIAL
   Costas Takkas

   Takkas is the former general secretary of the Cayman Islands soccer federation, of which Webb is president.

10. CHAIRMAN OF N.A.S.L.
    Aaron Davidson

    Davidson is the president of Traffic Sports USA — a promoter of soccer events — and chairman of the board of the North American Soccer League.

11. SPORTS MARKETING
    Alejandro Burzaco

    Burzaco, a media executive, controls Torneos y Competencias, a sports marketing business based in Argentina.

12. MEDIA EXECUTIVES
    Hugo and Mariano Jinkis

    Both are soccer media executives with businesses based in Argentina.

13. BROADCAST EXECUTIVE
    José Margulies

    Margulies was charged with being an intermediary who facilitated illegal payments.

    Source: NY Times